Here’s What All the Hurricane Categories Really Mean

With Hurricane Harvey flooding the city of Houston last week, and Hurricane Irma currently tearing through the Caribbean on its way to Florida, storms have been the talk of the town as of late.

Irma raised alarms when it was upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane, which is the highest rating a tropical storm can receive. In comparison, Hurricane Jose, which is currently behind Irma, is only a Category 1 at the moment.

Let’s be honest, if you’re not a weather expert, all of these categories can be confusing. What does each one mean? How dangerous are the different categories?

Not to worry, the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale has specific criteria for each of the five categories, making it easy to understand what’s what.

Let’s break it down.

Categories 1 & 2

Category 1 is the first rating a storm can receive after being upgraded to a hurricane from just a tropical storm. 

The winds in a Category 1 hurricane range from 74 to 95 mph and can produce mild damage to your property. Injuries to people or animals typically aren’t caused by the storm, but are isolated incidents from falling debris. These storms may cause power outages in addition to minimal roof damage.

Category 2 hurricanes are the next step up, and property damage is expected to increase quite a bit.

These storms produce winds from 96 to 110 mph, which means that flying debris is a much greater threat to humans and animals.  Category 2 storms often deliver significant damage to mobile homes, apartment buildings, and shopping centers. You can also expect flooding and power outages.

Categories 3 & 4

When hurricanes start reaching Category 3, things begin getting incredibly dangerous for those caught in the storm.

Category 3 hurricanes produce winds from 111 to 130 mph, producing plenty of property damage. Rather than just being torn apart on the surface, mobile and poorly-constructed homes are often destroyed. Storms of this size can cause inland flooding and can knock out electricity and water for weeks ar a time. If a storm heading your way is Category 3 or above, be sure to stock up on canned food and water.

Category 4 hurricanes are often catastrophic in terms of damage to property, as well as humans and animals.

The winds produced by these storms range from 131 to 155 mph, making it easy for the hurricane to tear down multiple structures in its path. These storms can cause power outages for up to a few months.

Category 5

Category 5 hurricanes, like Irma, are the highest-rated storms on the scale.

With winds above 155 mph, these storms will cause catastrophic damage to property, humans, and animals. In other words, if there is a Category 5 hurricane on the way, it’s best to get as far from it as possible.

Category 5 hurricanes will completely, or almost completely destroy mobile homes, frame homes, apartments, and shopping centers. Nearly all of the trees in the area will be uprooted or snapped and power outages will last quite a while.

Most of the area in the path of a storm like this will be nearly uninhabitable for weeks or months.